Sif and Jane
by elenniel
Summary: Sif and Jane go out to lunch and have a little chat in which they tentatively begin their friendship, tied together by their love for two brothers.


**SIF AND JANE**

_**For Sifki Week 2019, prompt #6: Ties**_

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_**A/N:** A follow-up to my earlier fic, _Rapprochement_. I suppose this takes place in some semi-alternate universe where Endgame happened but Loki survives and Thor and Jane get back together. xD_

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_This is awkward_, thought Sif.

For some mysterious reason, Jane Foster had decided to invite her to lunch. Sif looked around at the place. They called this a "café". Her tongue still stumbled over unfamiliar Midgardian words, but she supposed she must get used to them. After all, they would be spending a great deal of time on Midgard now that Asgard was gone. For the moment, at least.

"So, uhm, do you have any preferences?" asked Jane.

Sif looked at the booklet in her hand. Nearly everything written in it was alien to her.

"No, not really," said Sif.

"Well, the coffee here is good. And so is the tea. They recommend the special raspberry lemon tea, if you like that sort of thing. As for food… Do you like pasta?"

Sif had some recollection of what pasta was. "I do not mind it. It depends on what comes with the pasta."

Jane looked at her booklet. "Their pasta menu is quite extensive. I've tried some of it, and so far the carbonara is what stands out to me."

"What is that?"

"It's like… Egg sauce? Cheesy egg sauce."

It took a while, but eventually Sif managed to choose something. She almost regretted making a choice in the end because they lost an easy topic of conversation and the awkwardness returned immediately.

After a long three-quarters of an hour of slightly stilted casual conversation interspersed with eating and drinking, Sif finally said, "Jane, why did you invite me for this meal – alone?"

Jane gaped for a moment, but recovered quickly. She laughed a little and said, "To be honest, this was Thor's idea."

"Thor?"

"But I thought he had a point," added Jane. She stirred her coffee and gazed at it intently. "I mean… We – I'm dating Thor now. Again. And you're dating Loki. Right? Or whatever your Asgardian version of dating is. Thor said you two are back together. So…"

Ah. It made sense now. And was a little embarrassing as well. Sif flushed. "So we are to be acquainted."

"Yes. I don't mind at all – in fact, I'm more than happy to get to know you! I – you're not offended, are you?" Jane looked stricken.

"No, no," said Sif hurriedly. "I am sorry. That is not what I meant. I was merely – I am unused to this. To everything." She gestured at their surroundings. "This place, this world. This" – she waved a hand between them – "type of conversation."

She clenched and unclenched her fists, wiggling her fingers as she unclenched them, as if trying to lose the tension she felt in her limbs. Jane looked at her questioningly, but said nothing. Sif liked that.

"Loki and I… We courted for a long time." Sif spoke slowly. "Perhaps a hundred, two hundred of your years or more. Then it came to an end – or something like an end. It faded out, almost. You know what he was like – when you first met him… You remember, I'm sure."

"It must have been difficult for you."

Sif nodded, curling her fingers around her half-empty glass. "It was very difficult."

"But you've fixed things?"

"Fixed? I do not know if we have 'fixed' anything. But we have a new understanding… And thus… We have resumed our courtship." It was somehow very strange summarising their relationship to someone not of Asgard. Sif continued, "What I wanted to say was: in all that time, even in the early days of my relationship with Loki, I never once had a counterpart."

"A counterpart?"

"Thor never found one woman whom he liked enough to court with serious intention. Until now." Sif smiled at her.

Now it was Jane's turn to go red. Sif was oddly comforted that Jane seemed even more embarrassed than she had been a little while earlier.

"I do not think we are very alike, you and I," said Sif. "If anything, you are more akin to Loki and I to Thor. Yet perhaps that makes it… Balanced?"

Jane chuckled. "Maybe you're right."

"I am glad Thor found you, Jane Foster. And I look forward to getting to know you better." Sif leaned forward. "After all, we might well be sisters one day." She raised her glass to Jane, in a mock toast.

Jane went even redder and Sif laughed.

...

Loki sighed, and studied his fingers.

"Sif will be angry if she sees you," he said.

He sat with Thor in a bar opposite the café where Sif and Jane were having lunch. Thor was at that moment – as he had done most of the time – peering as hard as he could through the glass window of their bar, across the road, and through the glass of the café, trying to see how the conversation was going. He had chosen a table by the window for that very purpose, but unfortunately Jane and Sif had not chosen a table convenient for being watched.

"She won't see me," said Thor.

"Why are you so worried?"

"I can't help it! I want them to get along – don't you?"

"I can't say I'm as concerned about it as you are."

Thor made a noise that could be interpreted as annoyance or resignation. Loki chose not to bother guessing which it was.

"Thor, if Jane likes you, she will like Sif. You need not be concerned about that."

"But will Sif like her?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "This is ridiculous. It is not the first time they have met. Sif is, in her own way, delighted that you have found someone to cherish."

"Is she?" Thor looked at him, surprised.

"I am quite certain of it. Being courted by a prince of Asgard is not a common experience. She will be glad to have another with whom this rarefied experience can be shared." Loki finished off his drink and got up from his chair. "If Sif got angry with you only, I would not mind as much but she might see it as my responsibility to keep you in check. So now, can we go before my lady discovers us here and decides to punish me for letting you spy on them?"

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End file.
